Shoe construction



Aug. 14, 1956 F. L. RIGGS 2,758,397

SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Florida L. R 'ggs Y ATTORNEY Aug 4, 1956 F. RIGGS 2,758,397

SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 7, 1954 2 sneeis-sneet 2 Fig. 8

IN V EN TOR.

' Florida 1.. Ri gs W A TTO RNEY SHOE CONSTRUCTION Florida L. Riggs, Gilcrest, Colo. Application June 7, 1954, Serial No. 434,727

4 Claims. (CI. 36-76) This invention relates to shoes for human wear, and more particularly to womens shoes as heeled and styled in the current mode, and has as an object to provide a novel and improved construction for such shoes.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved shoe construction applicable to the development of modish style with enhanced wearer comfort.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved shoe construction wherethrough modish styling of high-heeled shoes may be practically and comfortably correlated with natural ambulatory postures and flexions.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved shoe construction susceptible of expedient fabrication in and from the full range of materials conventionally utilized for the production of shoes through the application of means, facilities, and techniques commonly employed in such production.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved organization and correlation of heel, sole, and shank elements in and to constitute a shoe of modish style and appearance.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved form and arrangement of heel, sole, and shank elements susceptible of coaction in and as the primary foot support of a high-style dress shoe.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and operative combination of elements as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section longitudinally through a typical, high-heeled pump constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the organization according to Figure 1 with certain of the sole laminations folded back to show otherwise concealed arrangements and the position of the concealed portion of the shank element indicated by broken lines.

Figure 3 is a section centrally and vertically through a detached heel element as formed and arranged to give effect to the principles of the invention.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the detached heel element shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the novel sheet element characteristic of the invention as shaped for use in the pump represented by Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the shank element shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an edge or side elevation of a sock lining as arranged for use with and to complete the embodiment of the invention according to Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of the sock lining shown in Figure 7.

The wide popularity of attractive, modishly-styled, highheeled shoes for womens wear has developed and endures despite the manifest functional disadvantages thereof. Elevation of the heel and the resulting steep inclination of the instep distinguish an established style which owes ice acceptance, apparently, to visual appearance rather than to practicality and comfort; casual observation and general experience being fully adequate to discover the marked degree, and the adverse effect, of deviations from natural foot posture and from normal foot flexions occasioned by the adopted styling. Hence, in the interest of ambulatory comfort, proper load incidence and balance, physiological normalcy and consequent foot health, the instant invention is directed to a construction wherethrough such advantages may be attained in a shoe preserving the lines and styling that have proved to be popular.

While the invention is illustrated and hereinbelow described as applied to the development of a high-heeled pump, to which type of shoe the improvement is applicable with particular advantage, it should be readily apparent that the principles characterizing the invention are equally applicable to shoes of all general types distinguished by heels, hence the details of this disclosure are but representative and in no sense limitative.

In common with conventional shoe construction, the improved construction of the present invention utilizes a heel 10, an outsole 11, an innersole 12, a shank 13 between the outsole and the innersole, a sock lining l4, and an upper assembly 15 all interrelated in a broadly conventional arrangement inventively distinguished by the features and correlations hereinafter set forth.

A first distinguishing feature of the invention is a construction of the heel element 10 effective to materially lower the seat for the wearers heel relative to the position of the conventional seat and to correspondingly and appropriately lower the line joining the forward margin of the heel element and the outsole to provide a support and fulcrum for the foot in proper correlation with the seat for the heel. The heel It) may be of any selected conventional height and exterior outline, the only significant modification of the element exterior being an integral lip 16 arcuately merging with and extending forwardly from the forwardly-directed face of the heel element and terminating in a feathered edge 17 constituting the forward transverse margin of the element closable against the outsole Ill and merging with the arcuate, peripheral upper margins 18 of the element. Modification of a conventional heel exterior by means of the lip 16 has the obvious function of lowering the position of the margin 17 below the location of said margin When the forwardly-directed face of the heel element is projected upwardly to intersection With the heel margins 18, thus to correspondingly lower the fulcrum Zone engageable by the foot just forwardly of the foot heel portion. The heel element 19 is further modified and distinguished by a deep, concave, recess or pocket 19 which opens through and intersects the entire sloped upper surface area of the element 10 and feathers below a plane parallel to the heel base through the edge 17, whereby to dispose said edge 17 at an elevation someelement is assembled in a complete shoe,

In the improvement, as in conventional practice, the outsole 11 may terminate in abutting relation against the edge 17 of the heel element 10, or, alternatively, and as shown in Figure 1, arearward extension 11' of the outsole It may be provided to lap over the edge 17 and extend partially within and against the cupped fioor of the concave pocket 19 of the heel element. Regardless of the particular relation of the outsole 11 to the heel element 10, the heel is securely associated with the other elements of the completed shoe by means of the innersole 12 and shank 13 through rigid, permanent connection of the shank and innersole rearward ends to the heel element 10 within the pocket 19. The innersole 12 is of conventional construction and of a thickness, material, and rigidity appropriate to complete and maintain the desired assembly of sole, heel, and upper; the said in- IZci'SOlB 12 being shaped in an usual manner to conformably engage at its rearward end within and to extend rearwardly beyond the low point of the pocket 1) in covering relation with the shank 13.

A second feature distinguishing the invention is the form and location of the metal shank element 13 utilized, in an otherwise conventional manner, to sti en and strengthen the sole portion of the shoe assembly. In stead of the usual straight strip of metal longitudinally bent to form a shank disposable along the longitudinal center line of the shoe in attachment to the heel element at one end and terminating in a narrow forward end where the instep portion of the sole angularly merges into the flat forward sole area, the shank element 13 is constituted as a substantially straight length of thin, appropriately-stiff metal, such as tempered steel, formed with an integral, laterally offset portion 20 at its rearward end defining a tongue spacedly parallel to and extending for a distance forwardly along the main strip element of the shank; said tongue and the rearward portion of the shank strip being sized and contoured to fit within the pocket 19 of the heel element with the free end of the tongue substantially at the line of the heel element edge 17. The rearward portion of the shank 13, including the tongue member, is curved to lie rather closely against the concaved bottom portion of the pocket 19 and to extend rearwardly within said pocket beyond the low point thereof, in which disposition fasteners 21 engage through the overlying rearward portion of the innersole l2 and through holes 22 intersecting the rearward portion of the shank 13 and seat in the heel element 10 to securely interrelate the so-connected elements with the principal strip portion of the shank 13 extending forwardly of the assembly and at the outer side of the shoe relatively to the longitudinal median line thereof between the outsole 11 and innersole 12. Further distinguishing from conventional practice, the forward end of the shank 13 is expanded laterally as a yoke having a shorter arm 23 diverging slightly from the line of the shank strip and toward the outer side of the associated shoe and a longer arm 24 diverging at a more abrupt angle to lie across the longitudinal line of the shoe and to terminate adjacent the inner side of the shoe sole; said arms terminating the shank in position to overlie and stiffen the angle joining the instep and forward fiat portion of the outsole. Obviously, the shank 13 is bent and longitudinally conformed to lie smoothly in conforming engagement over the edge 17 of the heel element 19 and to then establish the forwardly and downwardly inclined line of the instep and the angular junction of the latter with the forward portion of the sole.

The shoe upper may be of any appropriate and desired particular form, material, and construction, and said upper, in any conventional organization, is associated with and secured to the heel and sole assembly in a customary manner, as by lasting rearward lower portions of the upper within and marginally about the pocket 19 of the heel element 10 and by lasting lower margins of the upper forward portion to and between the outsole 11 and innersole 12, all through the application of usualtechniques in a well-understood manner.

Completing the shoe assembly ready for use and as a further feature of the invention, the sock lining 14 constituted in a usual way from a flexible, shaped sheet of suitable material is provided with a pad 25 of readilyyieldable, resilient material, such as sponge rubber, secured to the under face of the sock lining at the rearward end thereof in position to engage within and partially fill the pocket 19 above and in overlying relation with the rearward end of the innersole 12; said pad 25 being tapered from a considerable thickness adjacent the rearward end of the sock lining 14 and into mergence with the sock lining where the latter overlies the maximum sole elevation adjacent and above the edge 17 of the heel element. Finally, a pad 26 of material expediently the same as that forming the pad 25 is fixed to the underside of the sock lining 14 in lateral extension substantially across the sock lining and in a moderate thickness to overlie the forward end of the shank 13, and the arms 23 and 24 thereof, when the sock lining is positioned within and in conforming relation with the shoe assembly.

Obviously, the outer upper margins 18 of the heel element 10 in their association with the outer edges of the sole assembly mark and determine a styling that is highly simulative of, if not identical with, that of a conventional pump or shoe having a heel of similar apparent height, but in the improved construction the pocket 19 cooperating With the lip 16 and with the shank and sole elements of the shoe as hereinabove set forth functions to materially lower and flatten the position of the wearers foot and to comfortably accommodate the foot in all functional positions and flexions. The form of the im proved shank and its location relative to other elements of the shoe assembly provide for imposition of the loads incident to standing and walking to, and for transmission through, broad areas of the shank in a manner enhanci e of wearer ease and comfort with such proper foot support as long preserves the original form, style, and fit of the shoe. The broad terminal areas of the shank provide for secure interrelation of the associated sole elements and minimize lateral distortions thereof, while the disposition of the shank arch along and inwardly adjacent the outer side of the shoe conduces to correct, comfortable foot attitude and walking habits while reinforcing the sole and shoe assembly to effectively accommodate the imposed loads with minimum shift thereof to less resistant portions of the shoe. The pads 25 and 26 function to minimize the impacts and shocks of ambulation and to assist a natural rocking action of the foot over and about the arch fulcrum represented by the high point of the sole marked by the junction of the ontsole with the lip 16, and said pads elevate the foot out of contact with such high point, when the wearer is standing, whereby to transmit the imposed loads through the natural arches of the foot to and in correct balanced relation with the shoe support.

Adaptation of the improvement to shoe constructions of varying style, heel height, and functional type is a simple matter of adjusting the length and longitudinal curvature of the shank element, and perhaps the depth of the heel pocket 19, to correlate the position of the foot with the selected styling in the manner and for the purposes above set forth. Manifestly, the illustrated construction is that for a shoe to be worn on the right foot, and in applying the construction to a left foot shoe the shank 13 would be inverted and oppositely curved with respect to the showing of the drawings, whereby to dispose the straight shank strip at the outer side of the shoe and the longer shank arm 24 directed toward the shoe inner side. The fasteners interconnecting the innersole, shank and heel may be screws or nails, as may be desired. and may be provided in any appropriate number and arrangement, and when the shank is of thin metal, it may be longitudinally corrugated, in a well-known manner, to enhance its rigidity and longitudinal stiffness.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shoe construction comprising, a heel element formed with a deep concave pocket at and coextensive with its upper end, a stiff, longitudinally-contoured shank element terminating in forwardly-divergent longer and shorter arms, oppositely inclined to the length of the shank, a lateral enlargement at the rearward end of said shank element and at the sat-1e side of the latter as said longer arm conformably engaged within the pocket of the heel element to dispose the shank element in extension forwardly from the heel at the outer side of the shoe with the shorter terminal arm of the shank directed toward the shoe outer side, an outsole underlying said shank and closing rearwardly against the heel element, an inner sole secured to said outsole in overlying relation with said shank and conformahly engaging at its rearward end within the pocket of the heel element, fasteners through and intersecuring superjacent portions of said innersole, shank, and heel element, an upper attached to margins of said heel and sole elements, and a sock lining covering said innersole conformably within said upper.

2. The organization according to claim 1, wherein the lateral enlargement at the rearward end of the shank is formed as a U-shaped yoke integral with, wholly at the inner side of, and opening forwardly along the shank and terminating in a tongue spacedly paralleling the shank adapted to overlie the inner side of the heel element pocket with its free end at the forward margin of the heel element.

3. In a shoe construction having a heel element, a laminate sole unit including an outsole, an innersole, and a sock lining, and an upper attached to said heel element and sole unit, the improvement which comprises a deep concave pocket in and coextensive with the upper end of the heel element, a stiff shank along the outer side of the shoe between the outsole and innersole, a lateral enlargement at the rearward end and wholly on the inner side of said shank conformably engaged within said pocket beneath the rearward end of the innersole and therewith secured to the heel element, forwardly-divergent arms at the forward end of the shank and oppositely inclined to the length thereof conformably spread laterally of the sole unit across the junction of the instep and forward portions thereof, and resilient pads between the innersole and sock lining registered with and to overlie the rearward end enlargement and the forwardly-divergent arms of the shank.

4. In a shoe construction having a heel element, a

laminate sole unit including an outsole, an innersole, and a sock lining, and an upper attached to said heel element and sole unit, the improvement which comprises an integral lip transversely of and arcuately obtruding from the forwardly-directed face of said heel element, a deep concave pocket in and coextensive with the upper end of the heel element opening through and to determine a feather edge on the forward margin of said lip at an elevation above the low point of the pocket centrally of the heel element, a stiff shank along the outer side of the shoe between the outsole and innersole, a lateral enlargement at the rearward end of said shank conformably engaged within said pocket beneath the rearward end of the innersole and therewith secured to the heel element, said enlargement including a tongue along the inner side of the heel element terminating at the forward margin thereof, forwardly-divergent arms at the forward end of the shank conformably spread laterally of the sole unit across the junction of the instep and forward portions thereof, and resilient pads between the innersole and sock lining registered with and to overlie the rearward end enlargement and the forwardly-divergent arms of the shank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 32,487 Plumer June 4, 1861 1,157,330 Sharp Oct. 19, 1915 1,387,411 Kolkebeck Aug. 9, 1921 1,417,170 Hosmer May 23, 1922 1,462,798 Nickerson July 24, 1923 1,490,991 Tilson et a1 Apr. 22, 1924 1,773,365 Lake Aug. 19, 1930 1,843,952 McBrearty Feb. 9, 1932 1,993,208 Cohn Mar. 5, 1935 2,210,332 Eich Aug. 6, 1940 2,260,472 Merritt Oct. 28, 1941 2,648,144 Stein Aug. 11, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 380,161 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1932 437,434 Great Britain Oct. 29, 1935 

